The docks at dawn [Open to all]

Amethy Dillard

The dirty, stained mirror reflected me back by the candlelight; A who did not see the sun for quite sometime... pale once again, almost translucent with a milky white glow to the skin. Only my bluegreen eyes sparkled with life, but I figured my eyes were simply watery. Our mirror was stubbornly dirty I finally concluded, pulling myself away, physically and emotionally. I did not want to deal with the fact that I was different, it was not helping at all, now that the family was moving about, not minding me, packing the things they needed for another day. My brother, not even quite a whole year younger than me, stopped with a trident in hand and a questioning look.

Fresh from a personal scrutiny of my face, I went ahead and studied his. Brownish blonde hair, bluegreen eyes and the customary tan everyone else seemed to have. We have the same color of eyes, the delicate mouth and the maternal nose, but that was pretty much it. He was such a grown boy now. Handsome at that too. No wonder some people at school would bleakly smile at me.

"Ames, will you be coming along this time?" Ames. He was probably the only one who had my heart, and he mine. Maybe because we were both different. He, who did not look at all like our father (more like our friendly neighbor), and me... well, me. I wordlessly nodded and tied my hair up in a ponytail. Typical family day.

Father, Mother, my brother and I headed to the sea carrying nets and tridents and buckets for the haul. Our parents walked ahead, in whispered conversations while Orion and I followed behind, enjoying the view outside. Or at least, I did, and did not mind my brother. He seemed busy with girls walking beside him anyway.

"Amethy, would it be alright for you to stay behind with the buckets?" My father asks. I shrug and look away. They still did not trust my body. Well, neither did I, so I wasn't about to argue it out with them. My mother kept the buckets in a floating wood tied to the dock, so as not to crowd the platform when other fishermen came. My job was simply to not allow it to float away. My brother gave me a hug before pulling the rope to their own boat free.

Alone. The way I like it. I removed my ponytail and allowed the wind to play with my unusual hair. I sat by the edge of the dock, deeply breathing in the sea breeze, with its salty spray. My feet were submerged in the water. High tide. I wonder what kind of fishes will they be able to harvest today. As for the redhead girl, the dock was a more comforting area.